Integrated circuit (IC) devices are often used in computers, communications equipment, televisions, and many other products. In a typical application, several IC devices are mounted to a printed circuit board ("PCB") to form a PCB assembly ("PCA") that may be easily installed in a product. For example, computer memory modules, such as Single In-line Memory Modules ("SIMMs") and Dual In-line Memory Modules ("DIMMs"), generally have a number of IC devices mounted closely together on the printed circuit board.
Although electronics manufacturers strive to produce operable IC devices, a few PCAs may be defective because one or more of the IC devices on a PCA may be defective or otherwise impaired. The electronics manufacturing industry is highly competitive, and thus it is important to have a high yield and through-put of operable products during manufacture. To improve yields and maintain through-put, each defective IC device is generally replaced with a new IC device so that the time and the operable components invested in the other IC devices in the defective PCA are not wasted. Conventional replacement processes, however, raise several manufacturing issues regarding the yield and through-put of PCAs and the risk of damage to nondefective components.
In one conventional replacement operation, the defective IC device is physically removed from the PCB and replaced with a new IC device. Physically removing the defective IC device is generally undesirable because it is time-consuming to disconnect the electrical connections and/or the adhesives used to mount the defective IC device to the PCB. Physically removing the defective device may also be undesirable because other operable devices on the PCB may be damaged or destroyed. For example, it may be difficult to remove a defective component without inadvertently damaging other components. Thus, replacement operations that physically remove defective IC devices may reduce the manufacturing yield and through-put by damaging other previously operable devices on the PCB.
In another conventional replacement process, the contacts of the defective device are heated to reflow the contacts so that the defective device can be removed from the PCB. To heat the contacts, either the whole PCA is heated, or just the individual contacts of the defective device are individually heated. Heating the PCA or the defective device, however, is generally undesirable because the operable devices surrounding the defective device are also heated. As a result, some of the contacts connecting the operable devices to the rest of the circuit may loosen or break. Additionally, the circuitry in the operable devices may be impaired because dopants, silicon structures, or other structures in an IC device may be altered at high temperatures. Heating the PCA or the defective device is also undesirable because it may be time-consuming. Thus, replacement operations that heat the PCA or the individual contacts of the defective device may also reduce the manufacturing yield and through-put by damaging previously operable devices.